Isolation may be very harmful to a human being, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor and Keeper'N Me by Richard Wagamese both point out the risks of living alone in their respective books. Sammy Aandeg, the protagonist of Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, Virgil's great-uncle, and Garnet Raven, the protagonist of Keeper'N Me, both best demonstrate the dangers of isolation because they were taken away from their families at a young age, causing a loss of their identity and loss of their culture. Both authors explore the threats of isolation through the journeys of their characters. A thorough analysis of the ways of coping, language loss, and strained family ties of both characters will …show more content…
Sammy became isolated and spoke only Anishnabwe as a result of residential schools' attempts at embracing him into the white culture; “he hasn’t spoken a word of English since he got back from residential school almost 50 years ago” (Hayden Taylor 121). Garnet only spoke English because he was never given the opportunity to learn his native language, in contrast to Sammy, who only spoke Anishnawbe and never said a word of English. Not long after returning to Whitedog, Garnet starts to open up and lose his isolation. Garnet encounters Keeper, a man who is one of the narrators of Keeper’N Me, and Keeper teaches Garnet the ways of his culture and brings him back to his roots. Something Garnet had learned was the importance of the drums and keeping balance. “That drum lulled me into a deeper piece, and as I drifted over that lake that night, I could feel the power of the earth all around me” (Wagameses 214). Just as we should be alone with ourselves at times, we should be just as social, as everything should be balanced. Wagamese does an amazing job at showing the dangers of isolation, as well as showing the rewarding effect of getting away from it and balancing our social lives. Garnet felt lost before coming to Whitedog. He ignored the fact that he is indigenous and held his people in low respect. Sammy, on the other hand, made the decision to live in isolation for …show more content…
When Sammy did eventually get out of residential school, he cut himself off from most of his relatives, especially his cousin Lilian. Maggie speaks with Nanabush, the antagonist of Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, about Sammy and says, “He went to residential school with my mother, but was there for a much longer time. My mother was fortunate—only two years old. Sam wasn't a snob. She used to talk fondly of him when he was a boy” (Hayden Taylor, 120). Lilian and Sammy were close when they were kids, but after he returned, their relationship deteriorated. Given that they were both deprived of their ancestral connections, Garnet and Sammy are very similar to one another. Garnet has nearly never been able to establish a bond with his family, and he has never been able to do so with his father. He felt so alone in Whitedog because he had been deprived of the most important years of his childhood while also being deprived of his culture. In the novel's opening pages, Garnet says, “I lost touch with who I was pretty quick” (Wagamese 17). At this moment in time in the plot, Garnet begins to withdraw from society and isolates himself from society, including his family. It's as if he has forgotten about himself. In both novels, family members play the role of teachers, and Garnet feels lost as no one can teach him anything. In this way, Garnet and Sammy are similar in that they both believe they missed out
Isolation often creates dismay resulting in an individual facing internal conflicts with themselves. Ann experiences and endures unbearable loneliness to the point where she needs to do almost anything to
A major theme in the novel was assimilation and attempting to reverse the effects of Garnet’s life away from home through the process of healing. Despite Garnet spending twenty years away from home, he still retained speckles of his native foundation. Garnet’s journey to fulfilling his soul was a miracle, although the process was certainly arduous and complex. The healing began as soon as Garnet reconciled with his mother. Their tears flowed from the heart with ease as they hugged; The sobs reflected the idea that years of isolation do not contain the ability to erase the effects a maternal heartbeat leaves on a child. Later in the novel, this theme of the heartbeat returns. An object of passion and love within numerous Indigenous nations, the drum, is revealed to be a tribute to the loving heartbeat a human becomes connected to in the womb. Additionally, the drum resembles the fusion to the land and the simplest foundations of life. These aspects grounded Garnet and aided in furthering his understanding of his true
But life is not a fairytale. Standing there lonely, having no job is our Sammy. This is when Sam realizes his path, the true way to become mature. The moment when “Lengel sighs and begins to look very patient:” Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your mom and dad” (Updike) hold him back a little bit, we can feel the regret in his heart. But he cannot go back anymore, decision has been made. He gives up his last chance; from now on, he’s on his own. Sammy finally understands that it is responsible behavior but not playing “adult-like” game that will make him a true
He criticizes his family and their background when he says, “when my parents have somebody over they get lemonade and if it’s a real racy affair, Schlitz in tall glasses with ‘They’ll do it every time’ cartoons stenciled on.” Sammy desires to move from a blue collar to a white collar family to differentiate him from his family. He shows his growing maturity when he says, “the girls who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say ‘I quit’ to Lengal quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.” He wants to be noticed by the girls for his selfless act of quitting his job for them. His plan does not work though, and the girls leave him to face Lengal alone. Lengal confronts Sammy and says, “Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your mom and dad.” Sammy ponders Lengal’s comment and thinks to himself, “It’s true, I don’t. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it.” Sammy has begun to reach maturity and now wants to make his own decisions concerning his future and how he spends
Now that Sammy has chosen to become a juvenile delinquent, he realizes "how hard the world was going to be" for him in the future. He has left a life of safety and direction for one of the complete opposite, and he must be willing to accept the responsibilities of his actions, no matter the consequences.
Sammy’s immature behavior is predominant throughout the short story in multiple occasions. He is judgmental
He wants more out of life and his fantasy about being Queenie's "unsuspected hero" (p.36) allows him to escape. Sammy comes to the conclusion that life is not going to be easy and he is going to make decisions for himself that the people around him will not necessarily support. Work Cited Updike, John. A great idea. "
As the student begins his essay, he points out that Sammy is part of the lower class structure. He is an “eighteen-year-old boy who is working as a checkout clerk in an A&P in a small New England town five miles from the beach” (2191). While working an afternoon shift on Thursday, he notices “these girls in nothing but bathing suits” (2191) enter the store. It is in this scene that the student begins to identify the differences between the group of girls and Sammy.
Sammy was obviously near the bottom of the class ladder, a place where he was extremely unhappy. His dead-end job at the grocery store, where lower class citizens are the prime patrons, was not a place he felt he belonged. He wanted to be a member of the family where the "father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them" (Updike 1028). Sammy realizes that Queenie comes from this sort of background, a very different one from his. When Queenie is being harassed by Lengel, Sammy sees that "she remembers her place, a place from which the crowd that runs the A & P must look pretty crummy" (Updike 1028). Queenie’s family was in the class that he envied, that he admired, that he wanted to become a part of.
Sammy was indeed caught between the two worlds that collided one day in the A&P, and he chose to pursue the one that was not his own. He was able to do this when others were not because he understood both worlds, his attitude toward each were completely different, and his actions were drastic enough to cut him free from the bonds that his world had on him. With two paths to choose from and only one to follow, Sammy took the path less traveled in that small town by the sea. He was, to use his own analogy, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He leaves, with a clean consciousness, but the burden of not knowing what the future has in store. This story represents a coming-of-age for Sammy. Though it takes place over the period of a few minutes, it represents a much larger process of maturation. From the time the girls enter the grocery store, to the moment they leave, you can see changes in Sammy. At first, he sees only the physicality of the girls: how they look and what they wear, seem to be his only observations.
Sammy’s decision in the end to break away from the conformity that is in the A&P to establish himself is a raw truthful decision. He has chosen to follow his heart which Updike shows is what every person should do. This story is great for readers of all ages, because Sammy could be any person in modern contemporary society who is struggling to find themselves in a world dominated by conformity, rules, and standards of norms. Updike’s story is a powerful message to seek individualism. Although sometimes the road to self-identity is not known the journey getting there is worth all the while.
Sammy is stuck in that difficult transition between childhood and adulthood. He is a nineteen-year-old cashier at an A&P, the protagonist in a story with the same name. John Updike, the author of "A&P," writes from Sammy's point of view, making him not only the main character but also the first person narrator. The tone of the story is set by Sammy's attitude, which is nonchalant but frank--he calls things as he sees them. There is a hint of sarcasm in Sammy's thoughts, for he tends to make crude references to everything he observes. Updike uses this motif to develop the character of Sammy, as many of these references relate to the idea of "play."
A reader can tell that Sammy likes the main girl that he gives the nickname “Queenie” to. He thinks that she is the leader of the girls and also that she is the prettiest. The way that Sammy thinks about these girls really puts the story into perspective. A person would think that a few girls going into a grocery store to grab some snacks is just a part of life, but to hear it in the words of Sammy, it seems quite fascinating. At one point a reader might think of Sammy as sexist, because in his own words, “You never know for sure how girls’ minds work (do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)[…] (370). All in all, this is just the way that Sammy’s’ mind works; it is how he thinks about people. This is what makes it be known that he a younger man not from the current